How to Make a Usb Fan for Under $5 or Free

Introduction: How to Make a Usb Fan for Under $5 or Free

im going to show you how simple it is to make a little personal fan that is both easy to make and cheap.

this can work in your pc, laptop, or any place you have a usb, this is a must have when traveling, outside with your laptop,in the car, school and so on

*****DISCLAIMER***** if you end up breaking your computer, burn your fingers, glue your head to the table etc etc...I'm not responsible! this is very easy to do but you could break something.

there's no need to solder but couldn't hurt, its so simple i think a 10 year old could make this with a parent.

also this is my first ever instructable so i hope every one likes it.

Step 1: Lets Get Started, Gather Your Supplys

SUPPLYS (most of this i got years ago and then finally did something with em)

a cheap battery operated fan that runs on a couple of aa's or aaa's i got mine at a junk store years ago for $2 plus it has a neat lil light show, make sure your fan can run on 5 volts or less, and make sure its not too low or it will be fried
usb light from the dollar store because, if you can not find one just use a simple usb cord but you'l need a thick metal wire if you usb cord is not poseable / won't stand, (i didn't need to use any)
a basic knowledge of electricity

TOOLS i used
wire strippers
wire cutters
pliers and a lil screw driver to either prey things apart of to unscrew your fan
soldering iron and solder if you feel the need to
duck tape, electrical tap or heat shrink tubing
epoxy or hot glue

Step 2: Preping the Usb

strip your usb cable, cut it to the length that you want it at, pull aside the red and black cable (if yours was a light like mine you will only have 2 wires). snip the 2 unneeded wires and put a little hot glue over them so there no chance of shorting them out.

if your cable does not already have a thick wire inside the cable you''l need to cut a thick piece of wire a little longer than your wire (so you can wrap it to the base of your fan). you can either duct tap the thick wire to the usb cable or put a long piece of shrink tubing over the wire and cable, shrink it and make sure the red, black and thick wire are hanging out

Step 3: Dismantle the Fan

every fan will be different but in my case i just ripped the lil piggy off the base and stripped the 2 wires

you may have to take yours apart, get the 2 wires leading from the battery pack strip the 2 wires and then cut away as much unneeded plastic as you can, most likely the batter holder (save it for another project if you want) pretty much you just want to be left with the motor and fan blade.

Step 4: Time to Merge Usb and Fan

now take the usb and the fan, twist the 2 red wires together and the 2 black together, now test it in the usb makeing sure THEY ARE NOT TOUCHING. if it works follow the next step, if doesn't work switch the cables around if it still doesn't work either your usb cable is bad, the fans bad, not even power, too much power (if that's the case your fans dead).

Step 5: IT WORKS Now Lets Clean It Up

now put your tape around the 2 bare wire to prevent shorting

ok now you need to take the extra wire (thick) (from either the usb light or the wire you put in) now wrap it around the base of the fan or in my case stick it inside. now put some hot glue/ epoxy in the base / around the wire.

now put some tape around the spots you need to clean up

Step 6: YOUR DONE (clap Clap Clap)

your done(i hope), i hope this instructable helped you and i hope you liked it. now show me what you made, i'de love to see what they look like

if you liked this instructable please let me know and i will make some more and if thees any thing i missed please tell me and i'll add it in here since this is the first instructable i've ever made.